After leaping to DLA Piper from Hogan Lovells, 4 of 5 partners in energy group return to former firm

A little over a year after they left Hogan Lovells for DLA Piper, four of the five energy partners who made the high-profile move have headed back to their former law firm.

Among the exiting group is Kevin Lipson, the co-chief of the energy practice both at DLA Piper and, before he defected, at Hogan Lovells, reports the Am Law Daily (reg. req.).

Meanwhile, two other DLA Piper energy partners have left for Baker Botts, their new firm announced in a press release.

“I have spent 18 years at Hogan prior to departing and I missed the platform, the lawyers and the quality of lawyers,” Lipson told the Blog of Legal Times. “DLA Piper is an excellent firm and we helped them establish a niche in the energy space that they did not have prior to our arrival, and their clients benefit from it.”.

Revenue and profits per partner rose at DLA Piper last year and slipped at Hogan Lovells, the Am Law Daily article notes.

A DLA Piper spokesman said the firm wishes Lipson’s group well.

As numerous legal news articles have pointed out in recent months, the market for energy practitioners is hot, and those who wish to make a move have little difficulty in doing so.

“I don’t know how they knew I was here,” he told the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), saying of the job pitch: “I’d love to be flattered by it, but frankly it’s a reflection of what’s going on in this market.”

See also:

ABA Journal: “It’s a golden age for Texas’ oil and gas transactional lawyers”